Veldra strolled outside, adoring the peaceful sky.
His bare foot met the soft grass, the blades bending beneath his weight, cool and alive against his skin. The sensation anchored him fully in the moment, real, tangible, an affirmation that this new existence was not a dream, but truth made flesh. A quiet stillness settled around him, as though the earth itself acknowledged his presence and welcomed him without resistance.
Behind him, the hem of his robe brushed the ground, its luminous fabric gliding over the grass in silent submission. It trailed with measured grace as he moved alongside Veldra, catching faint traces of light and shadow, leaving no mark yet commanding attention all the same. Each step carried a sense of calm inevitability, the contrast between divine radiance and the humble touch of earth lending the moment a solemn, almost sacred weight.
He had wandered around the forest before, but to no avail; he did not see any life forms in the forest, except for the animals that roamed around.
Even so, his gaze did not waver. He strolled through the forest, eyes roaming with quiet intent, careful not to miss a single detail.
What does the system mean by find a Living one? Veldra asked himself, trying to understand what the system meant.
If he couldn't see any humans in the distance or even other two-legged species, did that mean animals would count? If the definition of a living being were simply something that walked, breathed, and communicated, then animals, too, could qualify, since they are capable of making sounds, breathing, and moving.
With that thought, Veldra tried his luck.
He walked up to the nearest creature in sight: a wolf. It was grey, its thick fur marked by rings of black along its body, and it stood twice the size of a normal wolf. Even the strongest individual on Earth would feel intimidated simply by looking at it. But Veldra was not just anyone. He was the ruler of the forest, and if everything within it belonged to him, then a wolf of considerable size meant little, did it not?
He stepped closer to the wolf, yet deliberately kept a careful distance. Its presence alone commanded caution. After all, what if this massive creature was not just any wolf, but a rebellious subject of the forest, a hidden evil hiding under the sunlight?
Just then, a faint chim rang.
== <<[|QUEST|]>> ==
Objective: Find a living one->completed
== <<[|---|]>> ==
Another chim rang again, a bit louder.
== <<[|QUEST|]>> ==
Objective 1: Find a living one->completed
Objective 2: Name a living one->in progress
== <<[|---|]>> ==
"Hello there," Veldra spoke, his voice calm yet carrying the unmistakable weight of authority.
The wolf's head snapped toward him, amber eyes glinting like molten gold in the fading light. The sudden motion made Veldra flinch slightly, a tiny ripple of surprise betraying his otherwise composed demeanour.
It actually… heard me? Veldra's thoughts raced. Does that mean it can speak English?
He took a measured breath, choosing his next words carefully. "What's your name?" His voice was soft, curious, probing the silence that hung heavy in the air.
For a long moment, the wolf remained still, unblinking. The forest around them seemed to hold its breath, leaves rustling faintly as if in anticipation. Veldra's mind wrestled with doubt; had the quest glitched? Was this some trick of the system? Though knowing his luck, a prank seemed far more likely than the extraordinary truth unfolding before him.
Then, the wolf bowed its head, its fur rippling like shadows under the dappled light. "Forgive me for not speaking sooner, my Lord," it said, its voice deep, measured, almost resonant with unspoken history. "I was… simply astonished that an Existence such as yourself would lower yourself to speak to me. As for a name… I do not possess one."
Veldra's mind drifted, caught in a brief reverie at the wolf's noble tone. The creature spoke English flawlessly, eloquently, measured, almost regal. That in itself was remarkable, though perhaps not entirely surprising. What truly astonished him was the depth of its speech; the kind of fluency, precision, and subtlety carried in those words was something few humans on Earth could manage, let alone a wolf. The realisation made Veldra pause, a flicker of awe passing through him.
He shook himself from the momentary daze, letting his composed demeanour settle back into place. Calm, controlled, deliberate, he returned to the posture of a master surveying his domain.
"You don't have a name?" he asked again, curiosity softening the edges of his usually impassive face. There was a subtle tilt to his head, an almost imperceptible spark of intrigue in his void black eyes.
The wolf's gaze held his, deep and unyielding, though a trace of puzzlement flickered across its features. "No, my Lord. I do not have a name, for I have not been named," it replied, voice steady but tinged with a hint of surprise, as though Veldra's question was entirely foreign to its experience.
Veldra stepped slightly closer, the forest around them silent as if holding its breath, leaves and shadows frozen in anticipation. His tone softened, yet carried the same commanding authority as before. "Then… may I name you?"
"You need not name me, my Lord," the wolf said, bowing its head so low that the shadow of its muzzle nearly touched the forest floor. Its voice, deep and resonant, carried a humility so profound it seemed to press against the air itself. "I am but a wolf; aged, worn, my body diminished with time. What can such a creature possibly offer one such as you?"
Its amber eyes lifted briefly, shimmering with a mixture of reverence and quiet desperation, glinting like molten gold in the dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy. "Please, cast your gaze elsewhere. Look not upon my lowly form. I am unworthy."
The wolf's chest heaved slightly, the movements of age and fatigue visible in each breath. Yet beneath the frailty, there was a quiet strength, a resolute devotion that seemed to radiate outward, wrapping the space around them in a heavy, almost sacred gravity. "It is enough for me to see your face," it continued, voice trembling ever so slightly with fervour. "To serve you… to exist in your presence… is more than I could ever hope for. I would give eternity itself to walk by your side, my Lord."
"Hah… what a loyal creature you are," Veldra said, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. His gaze lingered on the wolf, taking in the subtle rise and fall of its chest, the way its fur shimmered faintly in the shifting light of the forest. "But tell me… why is it that I cannot name you? Surely it is not normal for a living being, especially one such as yourself, to remain nameless."
For a moment, the wolf remained still, the shadows of the trees falling across its fur like a living tapestry. Then, slowly, it lifted its head, amber eyes wide and gleaming with a mixture of surprise and disbelief. "My Lord… do you truly not know?" it asked, its voice carrying a note of astonishment.
"What do you mean?" Veldra asked, his voice calm yet threaded with genuine curiosity, eyes narrowing slightly as he leaned forward, eager to unravel the mystery.
"My Lord… if you truly do not know, allow me to explain," the wolf replied, lifting its head with measured reverence, amber eyes glimmering like molten gold. Its voice carried the weight of dead life, low and deliberate, echoing faintly against the surrounding trees.
"Go on," Veldra said, his tone gentle, yet edged with the authority of one accustomed to a Ruler.
The wolf inhaled deeply, chest rising with a rhythm that spoke of age, endurance, and an unyielding will. "My Lord," it began, voice steady yet laden with solemnity, "to name a living being, one must possess Prismora, the very source of all creation. Names are not mere words; they are the essence, the true identity of all that crawls, walks, or breathes upon this world. To exist without a name is to drift in obscurity… to lack potential… to face death as a certainty, unseen and unremembered. Without a name, a being becomes as meaningless as a forgotten artwork, discarded, unworthy, and denied the sacred gift of life. I… I am one of them."
It paused, eyes glinting as though tracing invisible threads of energy that only it could perceive. "Names may be granted, My Lord, by existences higher than mortal reckoning, beings such as yourself. Yet even a single name carries a price: it consumes Prismora, and if wielded without care, it can unravel the very essence of the one it is granted to. Not all who are born possess the ability to control it. Most falter, most fail…"
A faint wind rustled through the canopy, stirring the leaves like whispers of forgotten histories, as the wolf's gaze shifted toward Veldra, unwavering and intense. "But you, My Lord… I sense within you a most peculiar energy. It is vast, unfathomable, infinite… boundless in scope, yet coherent, and more profound than any I have beheld in all my years. It is… extraordinary. I do not fully comprehend it, yet I feel the weight of it, and it terrifies and humbles me in equal measure."
Veldra listened intently, his focus absolute, his ears and mind attuned to the wolf's words, careful not to let a single detail slip past his notice.